Demonstration

‘For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power’ 1 Corinthians 4:20.

‘For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake’ 1 Thessalonians 1:5.

‘And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God’ 1 Corinthians 2:4-5.

This is normal Christianity! As sons of God we owe this world demonstrations of God’s power. Anything less than this we are presenting another religion to this lost and hurting world. Sadly a lot of Christians and ministers present God as being a big talker. There is a lot of preaching, but little demonstration. It should be that there is a lot of demonstration accompanied with the preaching of the word.

Jesus Christ is our model

As Christ’ ambassadors we are to follow His example: ‘how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him’ Acts 10:38.

‘And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give’ Matthew 10:7.

That is preaching with a lot of demonstration. These signs and wonders are proof of God’s love to those who have been made captive by the trickery of the devil.

‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ Romans 5:8.

God passionately longs to demonstrate Himself through our lives because it is His nature to do so. Jesus Christ continually demonstrated love and power because that is who God is. God wants to demonstrate Himself more than we can imagine, but He chose His body (the church) to have this great privilege and great responsibility to demonstrate who God is (the fullness of God) to the world. I am referring to demonstrating God’s character, purity, holiness, love, compassion, humility, obedience, healings, miracles, signs and wonders. God needs physical bodies to work through, that is why He chose His sons to be His living temples. ‘… as Christ is, so are we in this world’ 1 John 4:17.

‘to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord’ Ephesians 3:10-11.

Jesus Christ handed the baton to us to continue His work that He had started on this earth. We go to impact the world on His behalf. He is here, He lives in us, He has never changed, He is the same today! The purpose of Jesus being alive in us is for us to continue His life today. And that involves healing the sick, healing the broken hearted, raising the dead, setting the captives free, and winning the lost for Christ. This is how we honor God, by bringing freedom to the lives whom He shed His blood for. There are plenty of lives to reach, they are waiting for you!